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Burlington Coat Factory paid $300,000 to the Business Software Alliance, an industry trade group that polices software licenses, to settle claims it had installed unlicensed copies of Microsoft Corp. and McAfee Inc. programs on computers in its offices.
Topeka, Kan.-based Payless agreed to pay $124,057 over using unlicensed copies of software made by Adobe Systems Inc., Autodesk Inc., Borland Software Corp., IBM Corp.-owned Internet Security Systems Inc., Symantec Corp. and McAfee.
Jenny Blank, BSA's enforcement director, said the settlements show it's more expensive to illegally copy software than to legally acquire licenses.
As part of the settlements, Burlington and Payless agreed to delete the unlicensed copies, purchase replacement programs and strengthen their software management practices.
"We have created a new software management policy and continue to refine its implementation to emphasize the importance of understanding each software company's licensing requirements and use only fully licensed software," Brad H. Friedman, Burlington's chief information officer, said in a release.
A Payless representative did not immediately return a call or an e-mail seeking comment.
BSA received reports on Payless and Burlington Coat Factory through its online reporting system at http://www.bsa.org . The industry group offers rewards of up to $200,000 for qualifying reports.
Bain Capital Partners took Burlington, N.J.-based Burlington Coat Factory private for $2.1 billion in April. International Business Machines Corp. in October completed its $1.3 billion acquisition of Internet Security Systems.
Shares of Payless dipped 20 cents to $31.76 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
A recent survey found that 79 percent of organizations have experienced Active Directory outages recently -- up from 29 percent in 2021.
If you're willing to do some legwork to set it up, a device similar to a Surface Hub can be yours at a fraction of the cost.
Tech giants are coming together to combat misinformation that may arise during this year's election season.
To analyze VMware's place is in the IT space, it's important to take a look back of where the company has been.
Google this week suggested that organizations can use its ChromeOS Flex operating system to stave off trashing their old hardware.
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Media and Communications
NYU's media and communications services utilize the latest technologies and employ skilled experts to assist you with all your multimedia and communication needs. Resources including Information Technology Services, the Office of Web Communications, the Office of Marketing Communications, Campus Media, Copy Central, the Department of Media Production and the Television Center are available to help you develop effective marketing, advertising and communication strategies. From conception to post-production, these offices provide services and equipment for all aspects of multimedia production.

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If you're curious about the future of legal marijuana in Massachusetts, the liquor industry might offer some guidance.
Like marijuana, the manufacturing, sale and transport of alcohol were once illegal. The 13-year period, known as Prohibition, ended in 1933, and there are similarities between the years that followed and what's happening today with the rollout of adult-use marijuana, also known as recreational marijuana.
"There are some really interesting parallels between the end of Prohibition and the legalization of marijuana," said Stephanie Schorow, author of "Drinking Boston: A History of the City and Its Spirits."
Today, more than 74 Massachusetts municipalities have banned retail sales of adult-use marijuana, preventing retailers — often referred to as "pot shops" — from opening within city or town limits. The same thing happened after Prohibition, as cities and towns decided to remain "dry," meaning alcohol sales were not allowed.
Ultimately, over time, the local decisions were largely reversed. It happened most often when an economic boost was needed, according to Schorow, a Medford resident.
"When towns needed revenue, they opened up the liquor laws," she said. "It stimulated the growth of local restaurants."
Fast forward 85 years and there are a still a few holdouts. Eight towns remain dry: Alford, Dunstable, Chilmark, Gosnold, Hawley, Montgomery, Westhampton and Mount Washington. Another eight don't have a single alcohol retailer. But the 16 boozeless communities pale in comparison to the 335 wet ones.
As of March 3, the state counted 12,098 retail liquor licenses, including package stores, restaurants and clubs, according to data shared by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. Per capita, Cape Cod was the "booziest" region, led by Provincetown. The iconic seaside town at the tip of the Cape boasted roughly one liquor license for every 34 residents.
Among towns with at least one liquor license, Boxford was the driest town with one license serving 7,965 residents. The statewide median was one for 575 residents.
Advocates are optimistic something similar, albeit on a smaller scale, will play out with adult-use marijuana, which was approved by Massachusetts voters in 2016. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is considering adult-use marijuana licenses, and commercial retail sales could start as early as July 1.
"I don't think you'll ever see that many cannabis licenses, and if you saw half, I'd think it'd be a lot. It's a product that's popular, but not nearly as popular as alcohol," said Jim Borghesani, president of a cannabis-consulting firm called Primepoint Media. "I have no doubt, though, maybe three to five years down the road, we're going to see the beginning of restaurants and cafes where you can consume on location, just like you can with alcohol,"
On-site and public consumption are prohibited in Massachusetts, although state regulators are slated to consider the issue later this year. Borghesani, who served as communications director for the campaign to legalize adult-use marijuana, said the industry — like the alcohol industry — will succeed over time, especially as the stigma surrounding marijuana diminishes.
"The key to that happening will be the eventual normalization of cannabis as a substance," he said. "The lingering fear … that's been part of our society for nearly 100 years will dissipate once the legal market establishes itself, and people will see that their fears are unfounded."
How the marijuana industry is regulated also signals how it could ultimately look akin to the liquor industry. After Prohibition, the alcohol industry was quickly subjected to strict regulation. As the legal industry grew, bootleggers, speakeasies and drugstores — acting as de facto liquor stores — were ultimately replaced by distributors, bars and package stores.
The Cannabis Control Commission, a state agency established to regulate the adult-use marijuana market, is considering licenses for growing, distribution and retail sales. Fifty-one applicants have submitted all the necessary documents for consideration, and the most — 16 applicants — are looking to set up shop in Worcester County.
Shawn Collins, CCC executive director, says tight regulations are a necessity to gaining public trust in a new market.
"We're now 80 years post-Prohibition, and who knows what folks thought back then, or what they predicted, but what we've seen is a gain in comfort because it's a tightly regulated marketplace," he explained. "That's kind of the first step we've taken, as the commission has put in place strong regulations, and declared an intent to enforce those regulations."
Despite all the similarities, however, there are some glaring differences. And perhaps the most-prominent one is related to law. Prohibition was repealed at the federal level with the 21st Amendment and subsequently ratified by states. Conversely, marijuana has been legalized at the state level and remains illegal in the eyes of the federal government.
The dynamic adds a unique layer of growing pains for marijuana, especially as ancillary industries, including banks, real estate and investors, are wary of potential repercussions that could come along with partnering with the burgeoning industry.
"That's a different challenge than what was faced in 1933," Borghesani said.
How much it will matter in the long run, however, might not be answered for decades.
"Eighty years from now we'll see what the market will look like," Collins said. "Hopefully it'll be a good blueprint."


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Charter schools were adopted in Michigan as a way to allow innovation to occur outside the regulatory bureaucracy of traditional public schools. While creativity was generally expected to come from inside the classroom, a Michigan firm is gaining attention for new ideas in the construction of charter school buildings.
Jason Pater, real estate projects manager for National Heritage Academies (NHA), a charter school company based in Grand Rapids, says his company is saving charter schools significant time and money by using alternative construction methods.
Pater says his company is constructing schools for $65 per square foot and $7500 per student. American School & University magazine's 29th annual Official Education Construction Report reported that construction of traditional public schools in the Midwest in 2002 typically cost about $144 per square foot and $17,083 per student. The national average for high school construction, according to the report's sample of 400 school districts, was $158 per square foot and $23,409 per student.
NHA's cost of building a charter school compares even more favorably with two of Michigan's flagship school construction projects, Cass Technical High School and The Detroit High School for the Fine, Performing & Communication Arts, which have been noted for being among the most expensive in the country. Cass Technical High School, which was scheduled to open in 2004 but has now been delayed until 2005, will cost $262 per square foot and about $47,000 per student. The Detroit High School for the Fine, Performing & Communication Arts will have a price tag of about $391 per square foot and $80,600 per student.
While traditional public schools in Michigan receive an average of $681 annually per student for capital funding, charter schools receive no government money for construction or maintenance. Pater says this disparity led NHA president J.C. Huizenga to seek ways to build charter schools at lower cost. In 1995, Huizenga approached builder Doug Bouma of the Bouma Corporation about cutting the cost and time needed to complete a charter school.
Bouma submitted a proposal with a cost per square foot of $65 ($100 per square foot when furnishings and land acquisition are included) — far lower than the average cost for traditional public school construction.
While traditional public schools typically allow a minimum of 18 months for a school construction project, charters often have only a few months between receiving their operating charter and the start of the school year. Pater says the average time to completion for NHA schools, from groundbreaking to opening, is about 16 weeks, or approximately one-fifth the time of traditional schools. This allows parents to quickly enjoy the benefits of the schools their parents have chosen.
Doug Bouma says his company uses a "modified post-frame construction," eliminating the need for expensive masonry and steel. This type of construction, according to Bouma, can be completed much more quickly, and allows for easy and inexpensive expansion should additional classrooms be needed. Moreover, the method avoids the much-criticized traditional public school practice of adding trailers as classrooms.
Critics have charged that school buildings need the more costly masonry and steel to assure children's safety. But Pater disagrees. "Charters have to meet the same codes and standards as are required of all schools. We just do it more economically," he said.
Joe Agron, editor-in-chief of American School & University, stated that he was not familiar enough with the modified post-frame type of construction, but he confirmed that $65 per square foot is much lower than the national median for all types of new school building construction (elementary, middle and high) completed in 2003. He said, "just 'building' a school does not make it an environment appropriate for learning. The construction of a school building should evolve based on the academic program, teaching and learning styles, and goals of the community."


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B.C. Conservation Officers took more than 700 enforcement actions and laid 76 charges in a province-wide crackdown on unsecured bear attractants that ran through this summer and fall.
Audits of every region were mostly conducted in September and October, when bears are foraging to prepare for winter hibernation and grapes, apples and other fruits ripen in yards and farms. This adds to the chronic issue of unsecured household garbage, pet food and bird seed that causes many of the thousands of human-bear conflicts officers deal with each year, resulting in some cases in bears being killed.
The audits resulted in 704 inspections, 76 charges under the B.C. Wildlife Act, 301 warnings and 355 dangerous wildlife protection orders, which direct a property owner to remove an attractant or face a $575 fine.
RELATED: Fraser Valley sees 50 bear conflict calls in September
RELATED: Hummingbird feeders can also attract hungry bears
"The Conservation Officer Service cannot stress enough that the best way to keep people safe and bears from being destroyed is to secure attractants around your home, business or campsite," said Doug Forsdick, chief conservation officer for B.C.
Forsdick notes that while killing animals that become habituated to human food sources is the last resort to protect the public, relocated wildlife often fail to adapt to their new habitat. As a result, they may travel long distances, starve or return to their original area or another community in search of easy food.
The B.C. government has an online guide for managing attractants at wildsafebc.com/live/ a "Bear Smart" community program to help people prevent the sometimes fatal attraction of bears to food sources.
Statistics by region from the 2019 audit:
Kootenay: 159 inspections, 108 enforcement actions
Okanagan: 49 inspections, 133 enforcement actions
Omineca: 66 inspections, 50 enforcement actions
Peace: 51 inspections, 57 enforcement actions
Skeena: 78 inspections, 54 enforcement actions:
South Coast: 79 inspections, 202 enforcement actions
Thompson-Cariboo: 146 inspections, 33 enforcement actions
West Coast: 76 inspections, 95 enforcement actions
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Richie Sambora -- Out of Rehab, Joining the Tour
Richie Sambora Out of Rehab, Joining the Tour
Richie Sambora is out of rehab and has just landed in New York City, but he's not staying long -- he's rejoining the Bon Jovi tour.
Sambora told our photog at JFK he was feeling good -- which was evidenced by the fact he signed dozens upon dozens of autographs for fans.
He arrived from Los Angeles, but planned on heading right back out -- he's meeting up with Jon and the boys for the European leg of the tour. They are scheduled to play in Croatia on Wednesday.
Sambora checked himself into rehab in late April after, we're told, he fell of the wagon.


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This article is more than 1 year old
G-Wiz electro-car fracas leaves Top Gear blubbing
Top Gear Clarkson acolytes publicly slapped by Boris Johnson
Motoring buffs and greens have gone head to head during the past week as green-hating petrolhead Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear henchmen tangled with bicycling mediatart Boris Johnson.
The vehicle at the centre of the brouhaha was the G-Wiz electric "car." The quotes aren't El Reg taking a position, as you'll see.
Back on April 27, Clarkson's crew got hold of a G-Wiz and had test agency TRL fire it into a barrier at 40mph. Unsurprisingly, the flimsy vehicle crumpled up like wet tissue paper, mangling the test dummies inside. The safety trial, conducted to EU standards, had been comprehensively failed.
The Beeb petrolheads reckoned they had a major scoop on their hands. They knew full well that the G-Wiz wasn't required to pass their test to be road legal, as it is small and light enough to be classified as a "quadricycle" rather than a car. Quadricycles can be as flimsy as you like. So the G Wiz wasn't guilty of any regulatory failure.
But the G Wiz is marketed as "the nippy electric car," by its UK importers GoinGreen. Furthermore, various parts of the UK government offer serious incentives for people to purchase one. The G-Wiz is exempt from the London congestion charge, and can be parked for free at most meters. There are tax breaks, too.
The petrolheads sat back, chuckling, as they prepared to unleash their "scoop" to a storm of predictable applause from the tabloids. The government would be left writhing on the media spit.
But the authorities must have had a spy in Clarkson's entourage.
"In the end, the story was broken not by us, but by the Department for Transport, which says it carried out a near-identical crash test on a G-Wiz three days before, only it won't say where," grumbled the Top Gear chaps on their blog.
"It [the DfT] is not planning to release pictures or details for another month or so, but felt the need to scoop itself (or scoop us) by releasing details to two national newspapers early ... The DfT is claiming it wants the laws on quadricycles changed, a change that could render the G-Wiz illegal."
Drat those sneaky government types, ruining a brilliant when-oh-when-will-the-authorities-act Top Gear consumer crusade. Beaten to the punch!
And then it got worse. Clarkson and Co typically like to project a red-meat, cigar-chomping, tough guy image, standing in splendid isolation among the right-on Beeb hordes. But media scallywag Boris Johnson was on the story like a rat up a drainpipe, hijacking the muscular libertarian angle before the Top Gear lads could get a look-in.
"Come off it," he wrote. "Are we men or mice in this country?
"Transport minister Stephen Ladyman yesterday denounced the G-Wiz, and said it was not in conformity with EU regulations ... he wants Brussels to kick it off our streets.
"Well, folks, how pathetic is that? It's as though we have got into some weird S & M relationship with the EU, in which ministers go around asking for correction. After years of ritual humiliation at the hands of Madame de Bruxelles, the fabled dominatrix, the man in Whitehall has become addicted to discipline.
"Oooh, yes, they say. Tell us we've been naughty. Tell us we were wrong to let it on our streets ... Madame de Bruxelles will obligingly crack her whip.
"Mr Ladyman - Girly-man, more like! - should stop this drivelling appeal to Brussels to ban a brilliant invention.
"It's about treating people like grown-ups, and letting them take their own risks ... You have only to take one look at the plucky little G-Wiz to see that is no less (and no more) dangerous than a bicycle. We don't need the Department of Transport to tell us that, and we certainly don't need Brussels."
Or Top Gear, either. Ouch.
Made to appear as submissive nerds who enjoy being whipped by Belgian dominatrices, the disconsolate petrolheads sniffed:
"Fine Boris, but ... nobody knew [the G-Wiz's] level of risk."
Sure, sure. You weren't mounting an attack on "hippies and communists," (as Clarkson prefers to characterise advocates of green motoring) by having fun smashing up a battery car. It was all about safety. Though in that case, you could just as soon have fired a milk float into a barrier, or run it over with a bus or something.
But it's a lot harder to look butch when you're up against a milkman, as opposed to a hippy. And let's face it, when you've been publicly bitch-slapped by Boris Johnson, you do need to worry about how butch you are.®


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Closing arguments start in Zimmerman trial
Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 11, 2013
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — George Zimmerman profiled 17-year-old Trayvon Martin assuming he was up to no good, and that led to the Miami teen's death, a prosecutor said Thursday in closing arguments of the neighborhood watch volunteer's second-degree murder trial.
"A teenager is dead. He is dead through no fault of his own," prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda told jurors. "He is dead because a man made assumptions … Unfortunately because his assumptions were wrong, Trayvon Benjamin Martin no longer walks this earth."
De la Rionda told the jury that Zimmerman wanted to be a police officer and that's why he followed Martin through his neighborhood even though the teen wasn't doing anything wrong.
"He assumed Trayvon Martin was a criminal. That is why we are here," de la Rionda said.
Zimmerman showed ill will and hatred when he whispered profanities to a police dispatcher over his cell phone while following Martin, said de la Rionda as he urged jurors to hold Zimmerman accountable for his actions. In order to get a second-degree conviction, prosecutors must show Zimmerman showed ill will, hatred or spite.
"The law doesn't allow people to take the law into their own hands," de la Rionda said.
De la Rionda dismissed defense claims that Zimmerman acted in self-defense, accusing the neighborhood watch volunteer of lying about what happened. The prosecutor also showed jurors a headshot photo of Martin taken from his autopsy. Jurors trained their eyes on de la Rionda, barely taking notes.
Prosecutors began their closing arguments after the judge presiding over the trial ruled that jurors can consider the lesser charge of manslaughter, but she denied a request for the jury also to consider third-degree murder after a defense attorney called the proposal "outrageous."
Prosecutor Richard Mantei argued that instructions for third-degree murder should be included on the premise that Zimmerman committed child abuse when he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin because Martin was underage.
But defense attorney Don West called the proposed instruction "a trick," and he accused the prosecutor of springing it on the defense at the last minute.
"Just when I didn't think this case could get any more bizarre, the state is alleging child abuse?" West said. "This is outrageous. It's outrageous the state would seek to do this at this time."
Judge Debra Nelson denied the third-degree murder instruction, saying she was exercising caution since she was unsure if prosecutors could prove intent.
"I just don't think the evidence supports that," Nelson said.
The judge, however, agreed with the prosecution that jurors could consider manslaughter as a lesser charge.
West said he wanted the six jurors to only consider the second-degree murder charge or not guilty.
"The state has charged him with second degree murder. They should be required to prove it," West said. "If they had wanted to charge him with manslaughter … they could do that."
Jurors could begin deliberating as early as Friday. Prosecutors were expected to give closing arguments Thursday afternoon, followed by the defense closing on Friday morning.
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. On the night of the fatal scuffle in February 2012, Martin was visiting his father and his father's fiancee at the same townhome complex where Zimmerman lived.
Zimmerman observed Martin while driving in his neighborhood, called police and the fight ensued after the neighborhood watch volunteer got out of his vehicle. Zimmerman claims Martin was slamming his head into the concrete pavement when he fired his gun.
Some civil rights activists argued that a delay in charging Zimmerman was influenced by Martin's race, and protests were held around the nation in the 44 days between the fatal fight and Zimmerman's arrest. Martin was black and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.


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Born 1971
Graduated from Oakdale High School in 1989
Project supervisor for Resources by Nature
Former model for Street Jeans
Former stock car racer (his car was the Ludie Bell)
Former auto mechanic
Married to Anna (Married: Nov 11, 2009)
Jennifer Munson (divorced; deceased)
Katie Peretti (Married: May 5, 2006; divorced: May 24, 2007)
Nora Kasnoff (mother; deceased)
Mark Kasnoff (brother)
Sara Kasnoff (sister)
Nick Kasnoff (cousin; deceased)
Sage Snyder (goddaughter)
Nora Kasnoff (miscarriage with Carly)
"Missy" (lovers)
Carly Tenney (lovers)
Rosanna Cabot (engaged)
Pilar Domingo (deceased) (dated)
Molly McKinnon (lovers)
Carly Tenney (one-night stand)
Katie Peretti Frasier (lovers)
Nikki Munson (dated)
Jennifer Munson (lovers)
Lily Snyder (lovers)
Served time for robbery [prior to 1993]
Hid away rubies given to him by a mysterious woman named Maya Gold [1993]
Assaulted Craig Montgomery [Mar 28, 2005]
Auto mechanic Mike Kasnoff met wealthy Rosanna Cabot when he was hired to fix her car. Expecting the heir to the Cabot fortune to be a snob, he was surprised by her sweetness and sincerity and the two fell in love. Of course Rosanna's father, Alex, didn't take the news lightly and offered to finance Mike's dream of being a stock car racer if he stayed away from his daughter. Not one to be bought, Mike refused the offer and later told Ro about it. With Rosanna's help and encouragement, Mike was able to fulfill his dream and the pair went to Florida to race his car "Ludie Bell." Though he finished second in the race, Mike's happiness was shattered when he saw Ro sitting with his old girlfriend-the one who set him up for robbery-and mistakenly thought they were laughing at him. Angry and hurt, Mike stormed off and left Rosanna in Florida alone. Later when Mike learned that Missy was paid by Alex to drive a wedge between the he and Ro, he angrily confronted Alex who suffered a major heart attack and died. Alex's death was the beginning of the end for Mike and Rosanna. Though she was never close with her father, Rosanna blamed Mike for his death and ordered him from her life. Depressed, he let himself be seduced in a bar by a sexy blond named Carly Tenney. The next day, Rosanna went to Mike saying she'd made a mistake and she wanted him back. Not long after Mike met Ro's half-sister: Carly! Though he admitted his infidelity to Rosanna, he didn't name names and told Carly to keep quiet or else he'd tell Ro that Carly knew they were sisters before Rosanna found her and told her. His life secure, Mike asked Ro to marry him.
Though Mike knew Carly wasn't the sweet, innocent person she made herself out to be, Mike believed that she would toe the line. Unfortunately, he was mistaken. On his wedding day to Rosanna, Carly cruelly revealed to Rosanna that she and Mike slept together when they were apart. For the first time, Rosanna saw Carly's vicious streak and found out that she was only after her money. Hurt, Rosanna broke the engagement and by the time she was ready to forgive Mike, he had been seduced again by Carly, who was now pregnant with his child. Despite their desire to stay together, Carly's continual presence was more that Rosanna could take and one night she lashed out at Carly. Carly lost her baby, and when Mike hesitated about whether it was Rosanna's fault, Rosanna knew the relationship was over. Wanting to be as far away as possible, Rosanna left town and Carly left soon after. In addition, Mike had to contend with the arrival of his brother and sister and their problems, such as Mark's affair with Connor Walsh and Sarah's relationship with Paul Ryan,
As Mike was building up his stock racing career, he was also helping out his friend, Lily Walsh, who was investigating a man named Umberto Malzone, who may have been responsible for the death of her husband, Damian. Not able to get to Malzone, Lily discovered that he had an employee named Diego Santana and got close to him in order to get the goods on Malzone. Amidst this intrigue, Mike met a beautiful woman named Pilar who was stranded on the side of the road when her car broke down. Gallantly offering to help her fix her car, Mike became quite taken with Pilar who recognized him from the stock car circuit and teased him about losing to a driver named Domingo, a driver that Mike thought took too many risks on the track. Liking Mike, Pilar agreed to give him her number, if he beat Domingo in the next race. However, to Mike's chagrin, and Pilar's amusement, he lost again to Domingo. Later, after losing a third race, Mike made a startling discovery--Pilar was Domingo! Finding out that she was Domingo, Mike lit into her for her reckless driving. Although she was certain that he was mad because he lost to a woman, he argued that she took too many unnecessary chances to win and was certain someone would get hurt. The following week, Mike's fears were confirmed when during a race, Pilar's car crashed and she was rushed to Memorial.
Frantically trying to save her life, the doctors discovered that she had a rare blood type and went on a desperate search. As the doctors were working to save Pilar, Diego was at the hospital looking troubled and torn. Finally, he went to the doctors and told them check him for compatibility. To everyone's relief, it was a match and Pilar's life was saved. Not long after, Mike overheard Dr. Susan Stewart thank Diego for his blood donation and became suspicious. Doing some investigating, he found a picture in Pilar's locker that was identical to one Diego had in his apartment. Putting more clues together, Mike made shocking discovery--Pilar was Diego's sister! At the same time, Pilar herself found out that Diego was responsible for the plane crash that killed Damian.
Not long after things would finally come to a head. Scared of what an agitated Pilar might say, Diego kept her drugged. When Mike realized what was happening, he convinced Pilar to stop taking the pills she was being given. Trusting Mike, she complied and once clear-headed, she tried to escape the hospital. Unfortunately, she was stopped by Diego himself. Again Pilar tried to reason with her brother, telling him that Lily would never forgive him if she learned he was Umberto, a murderer. Again Mike was able to get to Pilar and convinced her that Diego was a dangerous man, citing Diego's recent rape of Emily Stewart. Hating her brother for the crimes he had committed, Pilar made plans to escape again and go to the police. However, before she had the chance, Diego was killed on his wedding day, apparently by his new wife, Lily! Lily became the prime suspect when it was learned that she overheard Pilar and Diego's argument, thus learning that Diego was responsible for Damian's death.
Totally devastated by Diego's death, Pilar demanded that Lily pay. Although Pilar had the ability to help the police go easy on Lily, given Diego's crimes, this time Pilar refused to acknowledge that Diego had done anything wrong. In denial, she placed the blame of his death entirely on Lily, making her the cause of his ruin. After painting Lily as a psychopath who killed Diego in cold blood, Pilar made sure that Lily wouldn't get parole by staging an attack so that the police would think Lily attacked her. Although Mike tried to get Pilar to see reason, she refused and continually defended her brother to everyone. Consumed with rage over her brother's death, Pilar started taking even more chances on the race track, appearing suicidal. Concerned for her well-being, Mike confronted her and, following a heated exchange, she finally broke down and revealed that this was all her fault since she wished her brother dead. Finally able to see her brother for what he really was, Pilar agreed to help Lily. Later, Pilar and Mike left Oakdale together to race in Spain.
Years later, Mike, obviously no longer with Pilar, would meet a young widow named Molly McKinnon. Striking up a friendship, Mike followed her back to Oakdale only to learn that she was Carly's cousin! Though he was falling in love with Molly, he couldn't deny the feelings he still had for both Carly and Rosanna. Though he was able to rebuff Rosanna's advances, after an argument with Molly, Mike found himself repeating history by making love to Carly right before her wedding. However both decided it was a mistake and decided to keep quiet about the incident. Afterwards, Carly found herself pregnant! Though she struggled to keep her indiscretion with Mike a secret, the truth came out with an angry Jack and Molly leaving Carly and Mike.
During the course of Carly's pregnancy, Mike put all his energies into making sure she was taking care of herself and the baby he was positive was his. Though Molly later offered to go back to him, Mike suspected that she wouldn't be able to deal with his connection to Carly and rejected her. Following the end of that relationship, Mike became friends with Katie Peretti at the same time that her husband, Simon, deserted her. Since Mike was almost single-minded in his concern for Carly, Katie helped him to relax and focus on something else for a change. Later, Katie would support a devastated Mike when he learned that Carly's baby, Sage, was not his. Not long after, Katie finally learned the truth about Simon's disappearance--he was on the run after killing Bartleby in self defense. Despite pleas from her friend Henry to not look for Simon since her life would be in danger, Katie decided to set out for Australia. Though she initially accepted Mike's offer to go with her, she changed her mind after realizing that he was developing romantic feelings toward her and tried to sneak out of Oakdale without him. However, due to a delay at the airport, she was unsuccessful and, despite her objections, Mike went with her.
Unfortunately, upon arriving at the Frasier ranch, the pair was captured by Mordecai, Bartleby's brother, and held hostage. Mordecai then told them his plan--he was using them as bait to lure Simon out of hiding so he could get revenge for Simon killing his brother. Though they tried to escape, with Katie even trying to send a message to her sister, Margo, all their attempts were fruitless and finally Mordecai took Katie away to be rescued by Simon. Tied to a chair that had a bomb tied to it, Katie suddenly heard Simon's voice and tried to warn him that it was a trap. Then came Katie's rescuer--but this time, it wasn't Simon; it was Mike! Having freed himself from the basement where they had been held captive, Mike succeeded in untying Katie, but ended up engaging the bomb's timer. Though Katie insisted that they look for Simon, Mike knew they only had a few minutes left and dragged Katie out of the building seconds before the bomb went off! Realizing that she'd lost Simon forever, Katie blamed Mike and told him she'd never forgive him for denying her the chance to see her husband again.
Soon after, Katie was told that the remains of a man were found in the rubble; the DNA was a match for Simon. Filled with anger and guilt for her role in his death, a depressed Katie continued to blame Mike for saving her life and told him she'd never forgive him. Still suffering, Katie suddenly became ill and was taken to Memorial where she was diagnosed with a disorder caused by insects native to Australia. Luckily, the condition was treatable with medication and Katie was able to go back to Margo's. However, Katie was still furious at Mike and rebuffed his attempts at friendship, even telling him she wished he was dead. That same night, while Mike was walking across the street to help a pedestrian, a car mowed him down, leaving him in critical condition. Later, Katie suddenly remembered, she was the hit and run driver! Deeply concerned that she may have almost killed one of her best friends, a guilty Katie resolved to tell Mike the truth about the accident. Her anger toward him completely gone, Katie confessed the truth to Mike who surprisingly forgave her and told the police nothing. Realizing that she'd been hurtful and unfair to Mike, and finally realizing that she did have feelings for him, Katie opened herself to a relationship with him.
After Katie accepted Mike's marriage proposal, who else but Simon would return to Oakdale alive! Pleading his undying love for Katie, Simon tried to get her to leave with him, but Katie refused since she was engaged. Telling Katie that he couldn't live without her, Simon warned her that his life was still in danger (a claim substantiated when some goons shot at him and Katie) and he wanted them to go on the run together. Though Katie confused as to whether to stay in Oakdale or go on the run with Simon, Simon needed an immediate answer. Torn between Simon and Mike, Katie quickly made her decision and, after telling Mike that she loved him, she set out to leave with Simon. Fearing for Katie's safety, Mike went to Margo for help. Though they thought finding them would be impossible, they caught a break and found out that they were hiding out at the docks.
Mike again tried to persuade Katie that she should stay in Oakdale where it was safe. In the meantime, Simon overheard Katie say that although she loved Mike, she needed to be with Simon. Realizing that Katie had changed in the year that he'd been gone, and recognizing that she would genuinely miss the life she had in Oakdale, Simon went to Mike and made plans to leave without Katie. Knowing that Katie would follow Simon to the ends of the earth, thus endangering her life, they locked the gate to the harbor and Simon changed his itinerary. After saying a heartfelt goodbye to Katie, who told Simon she'd hate him forever if he abandoned her again, Simon left for parts unknown. Although Mike tried to make Katie understand that they were only trying to save her life, she reacted again with anger and hostility. Tired of apologizing for saving Katie's life, Mike decided he was through chasing after her.
Soon after, who but a teary-eyed Pilar would arrive at Mike's doorstep, apparently the victim of a mugging. Concerned, Mike got Pilar to a hospital and, upon her release, asked her to stay with him since she'd confessed that she'd been beaten by her abusive lover who was threatening her life. Although Mike saw no reason to doubt Pilar's story, Katie was very suspicious and was certain that Pilar was out to hurt Mike. Though Katie tried to convince Mike that Pilar was lying and out to hurt him, he refused to believe it. When a man named Russ Terrier appeared to be stalking Pilar, Katie was certain that Russ and Pilar were working together. Later, Mike discovered Russ and, despite Pilar's pleas, he had him arrested. In the meantime, Katie's obsession with proving Pilar's duplicity kept growing until finally Mike saw her attack Pilar. Katie was sent to a mental hospital. However, when Mike learned that Pilar gave Katie a picture of her and Mike together, he began to wonder if Katie was right about Pilar--that she wasn't the sweet, innocent girl she pretended to be. Realizing that Katie was right all along, Mike wrote Pilar out of his life.
At the same time, Katie was rescued from the hospital by Simon. It was then that Pilar's true motive for coming to town was discovered--Simon hired her to get Mike away from Katie. While Simon was getting what he wanted, Katie, Pilar was left in the lurch since Mike no longer trusted her and wanted nothing to do with her. Angry that Katie ruined everything for her, a truly demented Pilar decided to get even by kidnapping Katie to the boathouse near Mike's home and murdering her. Unfortunately for Pilar, she made a fatal error by giving Mike (who'd called her cell phone) a clue as to their whereabouts. Mike's arrival was all the distraction Katie needed to wrap Pilar in a fisherman's net as a means to get away. Unfortunately for Pilar, Katie's efforts caused her to fall on her own knife. Shocked at what she'd done and Simon's part in it, Katie briefly left town. With her gone, Mike concentrated on his professional career and got a job remodeling for BRO.
At the same time, he let himself be talked into helping Henry snare the heart of Nikki Munson. However, unknown to Henry, she already had eyes for someone--Mike! So, Mike and Nikki's sister, Jennifer, who worked at BRO, were forced to stand by and watch two people go after someone who just wasn't interested. Throughout the course of several weeks, Jennifer and Mike became closer and it was obvious that they were attracted to each other. Finally, after a few months of getting to know each other, the two realized their feelings and decided to pursue a relationship. Later, Katie finally returned. Although it was clear she wanted Mike back, Mike was devoted to his relationship with Jennifer. Not long after, Mike was shocked when Katie suddenly announced her engagement to Henry! Although it was unclear as to whether this was genuine or merely a ploy to make him jealous, Mike refused to get caught up in Katie's drama and resolved to stay out of it. In the end, the marriage went forward, with Katie apparently truly in love with Henry. At the same time, Jennifer was trying to handle her new career and was shocked when Worldwide (which owned her company) gave her a new manager--Craig Montgomery. Although the two clashed, when Jen was worried she'd lost Mike, she ended up impulsively sleeping with Craig.
A horrified Jennifer just wanted to forget the entire incident, but Craig didn't make it easy by blackmailing her--he'd only keep quiet about her affair if she stayed at Street Jeans. Jennifer, though, countered by telling Mike the truth anyway. Weeks later, Jen was shocked to learn she was pregnant! When Jennifer told Mike, he surprised her by offering to raise the baby as his own. Although it was decided the truth should be kept from Craig, since all were convinced he'd be a bad parent, Katie accidentally let it slip out. Craig was determined to be a part of this child's life and made that fact perfectly clear to Jennifer, despite her protests. Unwilling to let a man such as Craig be in her child's life, others came up with a plan to run him out of town by framing him for drug possession. Jennifer and Mike then married. However, when Mike learned that Jen had known all about the plot to run Craig out of town, he left her and mere days later, fell into Katie's arms. Although Mike tried to make amends with Jennifer, she turned him away, leaving him to be with Katie. By this point, Katie had realized that her heart belonged to Mike and not Henry and she filed for divorce and asked Mike to move in with her.
Months later, trouble began with the newly-published book--"Oakdale Confidential." The book, which revealed secrets of many of Oakdale's citizens, made Mike very nervous and he was furious when he found out Katie had written it. Finally, Mike confessed his dark secret to Katie: right after he got out of prison years ago, he met a woman who handed him a hot bag of rubies and split. Now with the book talking about Mike's criminal past, he was worried someone might find out about the rubies. When Katie asked what he did with the rubies, he admitted that he buried them. In the basement of what was now Carly's house. Although Mike wanted to confess all to the police, Katie convinced him to just dig up the rubies and return them - anonymously. Unfortunately, instead of finding the rubies in the basement, Mike found a skeleton! The dead body was identified as Maya Gold--the woman who gave Mike the rubies earlier. Immediately after Mike married Katie, he was arrested for murder. In the meantime, Mike's cousin, Detective Nick Kasnoff, who'd been staying with Katie and Mike for months, took drastic measures to clear Mike by stealing evidence--a St. Christopher medallion with Mike's DNA that was found in the dead girl's hand. However, when Katie found another medallion, she started wondering if Nick was covering for himself, not Mike. As both Katie and Carly got closer to the truth, Nick got even more desperate and ended up holding both women hostage. Luckily, Mike and Jack were able to track them down. While Jack went off to find Carly, Mike pleaded with Nick to turn himself in. Cornered, Nick attacked Mike in order to escape. To keep him from killing Mike, Katie grabbed Nick's gun which was on the ground and fatally shot Nick.
Months later, Mike and Katie went on a honeymoon cruise and were shocked to find none other than Simon. After getting knocked out by Mike, Simon assured him that his presence there was merely a coincidence while Katie suspected that he was there to scam money from his lover, the wealthy Vienna Hyatt. Afterwards, Simon moved back to Oakdale. Though Katie was certain he was there to either break up her marriage or con some woman out of her money, Simon denied it. He also surprised her by stating that he struck oil in Australia and was now a very wealthy man. Katie was disturbed to learn that Simon was setting up roots in Oakdale and bought a building. Not only that, he hired Carly (who became close to Katie over the Maya Gold mystery) to decorate it. Katie was certain that Simon's motive was to ruin her marriage and she insisted that Carly refuse to work for Simon, but Carly refused to give up a good job because of Katie's paranoia. As much as Mike tried to get Katie to simply ignore Simon, she became obsessed and was certain that his new relationship with Carly was for her benefit. Months later, Mike innocently read an entry in Katie's computer (thinking it contained an excerpt of her new book) and was shocked to read a blog entry regarding her tryst with Simon. Unable to forgive Katie's infidelity, Mike left her.
Over a year later, Mike returned to Oakdale when Emma Snyder decided to sell her farm. Now working as a project supervisor for a large corporation, Mike pitched the idea of his company buying her land and using it to build an environmentally friendly housing development. Emma, who had known Mike ever since he first met Rosanna, was immediately impressed and accepted Mike's offer. However, when Worldwide made an offer that same day, Emma's daughter, Meg, convinced Emma to listen to both offers. The head of Worldwide was none other than Paul Ryan�Jennifer's brother and Meg's former fianc�. Remembering how Paul had hurt Jennifer, Mike took an immediate dislike to Paul and distrusted him. However, he was forced to work with Paul, when it was decided that both companies pull their resources. In the meantime, Mike went to Katie, apologized for walking out on their marriage and asked her to give their relationship another chance. However, a lot had happened in the year that he was gone and, at this point, Katie was committed to staying with Brad Snyder. Though Katie insisted that she had moved on after he left, Mike didn't listen and pressured Katie by suggesting that she wasn't really over him. Though Katie pleaded with Mike to let her go, he was adamant about changing her mind and, finally, kissed her. However, Katie rejected him and, ultimately, wound up marrying Brad. Seeing no reason to stay in town, Mike made plans to leave. However, Meg pleaded with him to stay. Although Mike assured her that he would find a suitable replacement to oversee the project. Meg argued that he was the one that she and her mother trusted. As the weeks went by, Mike's friendship with Meg deepened.
At the same time, Paul was desperate to get Meg back, but she was reluctant since she'd been hurt before. Mike continually warned Meg about Paul, and even went so far to convince Meg to seek a restraining order against Paul when it seemed that Paul was harassing her. While Meg was enjoying Mike's company, Paul was enjoying the company of the younger Sofie Duran, with Meg catching the two in the act of making love. Meg was devastated but for Mike, this reinforced what he thought about Paul. Later, Mike got caught up in Sofie's intrigue when she confessed to him that Paul had raped her. Despite Sofie's request that the police not be involved, Mike told Margo. He also told Meg but she refused to believe it and wholeheartedly supported Paul. Though Paul was charged with rape, Sofie later admitted that she'd lied. Afterwards, Sofie informed Mike that she was pregnant with Paul's baby. When Mike proved skeptical, Sofie produced a sonogram. Mike immediately went to Meg and told her the news. Not long after, Sofie mysteriously disappeared. Concerned, since Sofie had no valid reason to leave town, Mike went to Fairwinds to get answers from Paul. Paul denied knowing Sofie's whereabouts, which made Mike even more suspicious since she was seemingly the mother of Paul's child. The existence of a newly planted rose garden on Paul's property caught Mike's interest. Immediately suspecting foul play, Mike went to Jack with his suspicion. Though there was no real evidence, Jack questioned Paul and Meg. Unfortunately, their answers failed to put his mind at ease and Jack decided to ask for a search warrant to dig up the rose garden. Though Paul attempted to transport Sofie's body once more, he was caught in the act by Jack and promptly arrested for Sofie's murder. Weeks later, Paul was exonerated when it was discovered that Sofie's old lover, Cole, was the one who killed her.
Soon after, Mike discovered something startling�the Snyder land was contaminated. Due to the vast amount of contaminated soil, the company that Mike worked for backed out of the housing project. Unfortunately, without that money, Emma was in serious danger of losing her home. Determined to save the Snyder farm, Paul decided to fund the contraction project himself. Wanting to help the Snyders, Mike stayed behind to help with the housing project. Though Mike argued that contamination was so vast that clean up would be extremely expensive, Paul went ahead with the project anyway. While working on the project, Mike renewed his friendship with Lily who was in the middle of a painful separation from Holden. Feeling hurt and rejected, Lily came on to Mike. Though Mike initially turned Lily down since he felt she was too vulnerable, he later gave in and the pair made love. From that point, the pair slowly entered into a romantic relationship. As time went by, Mike bonded with Lily and her children. Unfortunately, the development deal went south do to lack of funds. With no reason to remain in Oakdale, Mike quickly left again.
A year later, after Brad's death, Jack went searching for Mike and was surprise to discover that Mike had a wife and money problems. Desperate for money, Mike entered a car race. However, Jack insisted that Mike was too jittery to drive in the race. Jack knocked Mike out, and substituted himself in the race. Carly arrived, but she and Mike couldn't deter Jack, who miraculously went on to win the race.
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U.S. General Cites Steady Progress in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | |
BAGHDAD — Iraqi and U.S. forces are making progress while performing counterinsurgency and reconstruction missions across Iraq, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said May 14. Iraqi and coalition forces continue to make gains in establishing security and enforcing the rule of law in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra over the past week, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. In Basra, Iraqi forces involved in an operation dubbed "Sawlat al Fursan," or "Charge of the Knights," are busily removing illegal weapons, fighting and arresting insurgents and other criminals and providing assistance to local citizens. |
"The Iraqi security forces are maintaining a strong presence" in Basra, Bergner reported, noting Iraqi soldiers and police are setting up security stations throughout the city and chasing down insurgents.
About 3,000 Basra residents are involved in cleanup operations as part of a nearly $60 million program designed to improve the city's health care system, municipal services, electricity provision capability, public communications and youth services, Bergner said.
Iraqi soldiers and coalition troops recently provided medical services to residents of Basra's Qibla district, Bergner reported. And, at the Umm Qasr port, Iraqi sailors increased water-borne patrols by 20 percent, he added.
In Baghdad, Operation Enforcing the Law, or "Fardh al-Qanoon" in Arabic, continues onward, Bergner said, with Iraqi and coalition forces working in tandem with residents to increase security, restore essential services such as water, sewage and electricity, open businesses, build schools, and repair streets and dwellings.
A recent economic seminar held in Baghdad's Hurriya sector drew more than 150 local businesses, Bergner said. Members of the neighborhood council told budding entrepreneurs how to obtain micro-loans to start up businesses, he said.
A Baghdad-based school for gifted students was reopened after being closed for seven months, Bergner said, and a new public works substation was opened in the Ghazaliyah district. The substation will provide four more sewage-collection trucks, six trash trucks, and other equipment to provide essential services.
However, Baghdad continues to be plagued by insurgent violence, Bergner acknowledged.
"Criminal violence continues to disrupt efforts by the government of Iraq and coalition forces to restore services, encourage business development, and ensure the safety of schools and other municipal activities," Bergner said.
For example, an Iraqi army detachment in Sadr City was recently attacked by an insurgent's roadside bomb, the general said.
"These attacks have caused loss of life and considerable hardship for innocent Iraqis, and seeing the attacks stop would be heartening," Bergner said.
In Mosul, Iraqi forces have launched a new counterinsurgency offensive, Bergner reported.
The initial phase of the Mosul effort "has featured intensified operations by the Iraqi security forces and it is building on the operations that have been under way for the past several weeks," Bergner explained.
"These Iraqi-planned, Iraqi-led operations have established bases and checkpoints in Mosul," he continued, "and have featured numerous raids on al-Qaida in Iraq cells that are using indiscriminate violence to intimidate, assassinate and wound innocent people in the city."
For example, the Iraqi and coalition forces-conducted Operation Lion's Roar in Mosul has resulted in the detention of some 500 terrorists and criminals, Bergner reported. Scores of enemy weapons caches containing explosives, machine guns, mortars and ammunition, and more have been uncovered across the city, he added.
"Much of the recent progress we have seen in Basra, Baghdad and Mosul is due to the efforts of Iraqi security forces," Bergner said.
Iraqi police posted in Baghdad's Kut, Yusufiyah and Radwaniyah districts have embarked on security patrols in recent weeks to uncover corruption and to improve neighborhood security and police station operations, Bergner said.
And recent police and recruiting drives for "Sons of Iraq" citizen security groups across Baghdad have shown Iraqis from all communities volunteering to protect their country, Bergner observed, adding that nearly 500 new Iraqi police officers recently graduated from the Baghdad police academy.
In addition, about 43,000 new Iraqi soldiers completed basic combat training this year, Bergner said. In April, some 700 Iraqi army engineers completed six months of extensive training in electrical and pipeline repair and explosives ordnance disposal, he added.
Several Iraqi military engineering graduates helped to build two floating bridges in Beiji that connect Salahuddin and Kirkuk, Bergner said.
By these accomplishments, Iraqi military forces demonstrated "that they are not only improving security, but they are also providing reconstruction support to help local communities," Bergner told reporters.
Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces continue to gain the confidence of the citizens they serve, while "increasing their capacity to hold onto hard-fought gains," the general said.
Security, Reconstruction: Maj. Gen. Bergner, Dr. al-Sheikhly, May 14 |
Dr. Tahseen al-Sheikhly, Civilian Spokesman for Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, and Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, Spokesman for USF-I, discuss services in Baghdad and security and reconstruction operations around Iraq. |
Iraqi Freedom Minute, May 16 |
• Shopping for Freezers Near Syrian Border |
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Feature Stories
Joint Patrol Yields Multiple Caches |
Iraqi Army Captures Special Groups Cell Leader in Husayniyah |
BALAD — The Iraqi Army captured a mid-level Special Groups cell leader in Husayniyah, responsible for coordinating improvised explosive device, rocket and small-arms fire attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition forces, approximately 30 km north of Baghdad, May 15.
Iraqi Army soldiers conducted the operation to capture the Special Groups cell leader whose cell conducted attacks against the ISF and CF as recent as April 22. These criminals emplaced explosively-formed penetrators and conducted indirect fire attacks against static Coalition force positions. Three additional suspects were detained. |
Bridge Linking Busayefi to Hawr Rajab Opens |
Checking In
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Iraqi Special Operations Forces detain four suspected terrorists in separate operations (Baghdad and |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Citizen's tip leads MND-B Soldiers to EFP-making factory in local bakery (New Baghdad) |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | MND-B soldiers keep criminals, munitions off Baghdad streets |
Helping Hands
Friday, 16 May 2008 | DoD Identifies Army Casualty (Baghdad |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | MND-B Soldiers detain suspected IED emplacer, weapons trafficker (Baghdad) |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Criminals fire mortar round, local market burns down (Baghdad) |
Rotating Troops
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Iranian nationals wounded in car near Baghdad |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Sons of Iraq graduate Iraqi Police training in Hawija |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Joint patrol yields multiple caches in Maderiyah |
Looking Out
Friday, 16 May 2008 | One terrorist killed, 19 detained in Coalition operations (Khan Bani Sa'ad) |
Friday, 16 May 2008 | Bridge linking Busayefi to Hawr Rajab opened |


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Cat Posters
Cats are a wonderful animals. The reality, that man loves to play around with cat and keep it as a pet, has increased the love of people towards cats unlike other animals. Cats are available in a variety of species, each of them known for their unique beauty.
Girls love to have cat posters
While boys like heavy animals, girls are more inclined towards, smaller, prettier ones. Cats are also one of these that interest girls. Girls love to have cat poster in their room. Not just that, they love to keep a poster of cat on their desktop screen. No doubt, there are a variety of artists who have created very beautiful canvas prints, as well as art prints of cats. Framed art is also available.
The effect of cat poster
If you see a cat poster, you will be immensely affected by its beauty. It is the nature and the flora and fauna that have a huge effect on the thinking of man. Putting up a poster in your kids room, or in the living room can create a healthy atmosphere in your house. Cats are so delicate, cute little animals that create a feeling of love and care where they are. This is the kind of effect that can be created in the area where there is a poster with cats on it.


text: > > yeah, a friend of mine pointed that out. I'm horrified that > > Apple's rah-rah-marketing has insideously contaminated my brain! > > so basically, if you want near-commodity 64b pointers, you're screwed. > > at least if/until AMD does their hammer series... > > You can get a Sun Blade 100 or Netra X1 for $1000. Does that count? well, I suppose it might be possible to want big address space, but not give a damn about performance, but that seems like a stretch. ie, blade100 delivers a measly 175/182 spec2k int/fp, versus 724/642 for a cheaper PC clone (AthXP2000). it's astonishing to me that Sun even sells these 1998-era machines... then again, they make their other products look good.


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TruHome Pros Solar
TruHome Pros | Solar Energy Company Serving IL, WI & MI
At TruHomePros we provide clients with over ten years of Solar experience, complete customization, and 100% customer satisfaction. We can help you with everything, from reducing your monthly residential electricity bill to designing custom solutions for your business. We will work with you every step of the way. Get in touch with us today to schedule your complimentary consultation.
Schaumburg is a district (Landkreis) of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbecke). == History == Landkreis Schaumburg was created on August 1, 1977 within the framework of the Kreisreform (district reform) of Lower Saxony by combining the former districts of Schaumburg-Lippe and Grafschaft Schaumburg. The town of Hessisch Oldendorf was reallocated to Landkreis Hameln-Pyrmont. The communities of Großenheidorn, Idensermoor-Niengraben and Steinhude had already been allocated to the community of Wunsdorf and thereby became part of Landkreis Hanover.
$99 Per Room, Interior Painting Professionals, Assisting Hands Home Care - Schaumburg, IL & Surrounding Areas, Avanti Ridge, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago : Schaumburg [BHHS Chicago - KoenigRubloff Realty Group], Bob McCullough's Pub & Grill, Bock Neighborhood Center, Bock Park, Burnside, Calandra Center for Health and Wellness, Campanelli Park


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Umberto Boccioni, (born October 19, 1882, Reggio di Calabria, Italy—died August 16, 1916, Verona), Italian painter, sculptor and theorist of the Futurist movement in art.
Boccioni was trained from 1898-1902 in the studio of the painter Giacomo Balla, where he learned to paint in the manner of the pointillists.
In 1907 he settled in Milan, where he gradually came under the influence of the poet Filippo Marinetti, who launched the Futurist movement, which glorified the dynamism of modern technology.
Boccioni adapted Marinetti's literary theories to the visual arts and became the leading theoretician of Futurist art.
In 1910 he and other painters drew up and published the "Manifesto of the Futurist Painters", promoting the representation of the symbols of modern technology—violence, power and speed.
Boccioni's first major Futurist painting, Riot in the Gallery (1909), remained close to pointillism and showed an affiliation with Futurism mainly in its violent subject matter and dynamic composition.
The City Rises (1910–11), however, is an exemplary Futurist painting in its representation of dynamism, motion, and speed. The swirling human figures in its crowd scenes are repetitively fragmented according to the Futurist style, but the rhythmic muscular energy they generate is unrelated to the Futurist cult of the machine.
Boccioni was probably influenced by Cubism in 1911–12, and about that time he also became interested in sculpture.
In 1912 he published the "Manifesto of Futurist Sculpture", in which he anticipated developments in modern sculpture. Boccioni advocated the use in sculpture of nontraditional materials such as glass, wood, cement, cloth, and electric lights, and he called for the combination of a variety of materials in one piece of sculpture.
He also envisioned a new type of sculpture that would mold and enclose the space within itself. In practice, however, Boccioni's sculpture was much more traditional than his theories.
Only Development of a Bottle in Space (1912) successfully creates a sculptural environment.
His most famous work, "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space" (1913), is one of the masterpieces of early modern sculpture.
Boccioni enlisted in the army during World War I and was killed by a fall from a horse in 1916.
He was the most talented of the Futurist artists, and his untimely death marked the virtual end of the movement. | © Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.


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Rae Bareli district in Uttar Pradesh, represented in the Lok Sabha by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has recorded the sharpest drop in a national ranking of districts by financial inclusion while more than 90 per cent of the districts have done better.
The 'Inclusix' index, compiled by rating agency Crisil and launched by Finance Minister P Chidambaram earlier this year, is to be a ready reckoner on how the states and districts have fared on financial inclusion. It measures achievements on the basis of growth in bank branch numbers, deposits and credit provided.
While the index shows 587 of the 638 districts in the country have improved their performance in 2012 compared to 2011, the pace of progress has been uneven.
Rae Bareli is among the rare districts where the score has turned adverse on all counts. It has slipped to the 391st rank from 309 in 2011.
Sivaganga district, Chidambaram's constituency, has also slipped but only marginally by three positions.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's Amethi was not ranked in 2011 but is 217th in 2012. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's Farrukhabad district slipped to 342 from 336.
Among opposition leaders, Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh, represented in the Lok Sabha by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, has improved its ranking to 441 from 478. However, Gandhinagar, represented by L K Advani, has slipped marginally to 241 from 239.
The index shows that in the state-wise sweepstakes, Gujarat ranks a lowly 15th with Kerala on top. In fact, no Gujarat district figures in the list of the top 50 districts for financial inclusion. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan also have no district in the top-50 club.
Kerala has 13 districts on the list with five of them figuring among the top 10. All four southern states are among the top 10 states. In northern India, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are the leaders at the seventh and eighth positions.


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Kari Dunham, MFA
Adjunct Professor, Department of Art
Phone: (626) 815-2064
Email: email@example.com
Fax: (626) 387-5727
Office Location: Art Center, Room 1
Kari Dunham, MFA, is an adjunct professor in the Art and Design Department at APU. Her current body of work is an exposition about family. She comments on the longing for deep and meaningful relationships and how the home has potential for both comfort and risk. Her intent is to make works that derive from personal narratives but that engage the viewer on an emotional level by inviting them to recall their own narratives. Dunham is passionate about learning and committed to coming alongside her students as they develop as creative problem solvers.
- MFA, Drawing and Painting, Laguna College of Art and Design
- BFA, Evangel University
Academic Area
- School of Visual and Performing Arts (College of the Arts)
- Department of Art
- Art and Faith Integration
- Art and Narrative
- Drawing
- Painting
- Representational Painting and Drawing
Courses Taught
- ART 146 – Painting I


text: Mega Fortress At the mission start get into the air as fast as you can. Put your wheel brakes on while throttling up to 100% or get caught in the hangar doors. When the doors are open release the brakes and take off quickly following normal procedure. Mountains surround the base so head north once off the ground keeping a steady climb rate. Go to offensive weapons station and switch in attack radar. Decrease range to 5-10 km. Select the red batwing-shaped enemy fighter and while lock is established set the bomb control panel to 'unlatch' and 'auto'. Select an AIM-120 and launch. If this doesn't remove the enemy repeat the process until he's shot down. Shut off attack radar and switch to camera. General Elliot commands you to head west so maintain a steady climb rate over the mountains. Select time compression (warp 5) to reach the next screen. Evade friendly radar contact and simulate a crash in the ocean. Set time compression to normal (warp 1) and turn attack radar off. At the pilot station set your TAC to less than 380 feet but don't turn it on. Set throttle to 70% and go through the normal identification process when contacted by Seattle. When Elliot tells you to put on the show go into a steep dive until the analog altimeter or flight level shows -59. Air control asks if you're losing control and when you altimeter reads between 10500 and11500 switch on the TAC. Level off at around 500 feet to evade the radar. Change heading until you receive a confirmation that you've evaded radar contact. Elliot orders you to head west. Leave the TAC on but stay in camera mode on the EVS and do not switch the radar on. If you get this right you go to the next screen where you refuel. Switch the TAC off and gain altitude. Go to the offensive weapons station and use the camera mode to lock on to the KC 130 refuelling tanker. Go to the pilot station and click on 'C' in the air refuel panel. The tanker refuses so switch on attack radar and try again. You can now refuel. Switch to autopilot set throttle to 100% and go through the in-flight refuelling procedure. Set the EVS back to camera mode. You now have a full load of fuel and can go on to Kamchatka to blow up the Kavaznya radar. Remember not to use the default weapon load - remove all weapons and use a mix of AGM-136 AGM-88A AGM-84E and AGM-130s. Don't go straight for the laser but for laser radar and save some long-range missiles for it.


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Posted on 09/09/2001 7:41:23 PM PDT by independentmind
When I was a freshman I went to a talk on dating, given on campus as part of a "Christian Formation" series. One of the things the speaker said was "Feelings don't really matter. Feelings come and go. What matters is compatibility." I've heard the same idea expressed many other times this way: "Love is not a feeling; it's a decision."
The de-emphasis on "feelings" was a fundamental aspect of a general philosophy of dating promoted on campus (though certainly not shared by all) at the time. Dating was (and still is) regarded by many as "a process of marriage preparation." Singles who truly wanted to "give their love life to God," were taught that they ought not to be dating at all until they were ready to get married, and that then it should be kept to the minimum necessary for finding an appropriate potential spouse and rationally discerning compatibility for marriage. A great deal of stress was put on the need to avoid sexual sin and occasions of sin, as well as on the danger of "going by your emotions." Young men and women were told they should not kiss until they were engaged, and were "challenged" to wait until they were married. ("If you're not going to start the car, why put the key in the ignition?") Older couples were encouraged to "get married as soon as possible" in order to avoid sin. The mystery of love was given very short shrift.
This way of thinking about courtship and dating seems to be on the rise in Christian circles. There are a number of Protestant ministers and teachers today promulgating what they call (very misleadingly, I think) "the biblical approach" to marriage, which they term "courtship" in explicit opposition to the dating scene of the world.(1) Dating, they say, with its pattern of emotional attachments ending in breakups is "preparation for divorce." In courtship, by contrast, "the decision to marry is entered into rationally," without the interference of the emotions and with the express permission and guidance of the parents. The emotions come later, during the betrothal period. "The betrothal period [is] given to allow the emotions to catch up with the decision. The emotions are supposed to follow reason, not lead it."(2) (No distinction is made here between critically different types of emotions, such as between arbitrary sensations and deep spiritual responses.)
I have heard prominent Catholics expound similar ideas recently, including the notion of parental permission to begin courting, no kissing until the wedding day, and the idea that feelings should follow the rational decision to court, not vice versa.(3)
This method of courting has a strong appeal among young Christians, for two main reasons. The first is that it has a very large kernel of truth in it. The dating scene of the world is a disastrous mess. It is almost completely focussed on pleasure and self-gratification. Sexual promiscuity and emotional anguish abound. More and more couples are living together unmarried, more and more marriages are ending in divorce, more hearts are being broken, more lives are being ruined. Serious young Christians are looking desperately for something better and purer--a godly way to get married. And this method promises to provide it.
The second reason for its appeal, I think, is that it so greatly simplifies things for singles. It makes the pre-marriage period manageable. It gives a safe formula for getting through an extremely complex, confusing and peril-fraught time of life. By putting things on a clear, up-front, rational basis, much of the uncertainty and vulnerability that inevitably accompany "affairs of the heart" is eliminated.
The problem with it is that it is drastically lacking the fullness of truth about the mysteries of love and sexuality. And the lack here is not a mere incompleteness--so that if a few additions or adjustments were made, we'd have it in full. Rather, it is the kind of lack that entails a reduction and distortion of reality. And any distortion on the philosophical level is bound to work its way into the practical realm, doing damage in human lives in proportion with the seriousness of the error. (I could give many sorrowful examples here if put to it.)
Love and discernment
Perhaps the prime way it distorts reality is in the way it denigrates the role of love in courtship. In some cases, love is treated as irrelevant or worse, since "emotions" can cloud our judgement.(4) More often, though, the "feelings" that go with courtship are seen to be good and valid, but still incidental to the "discernment process." I can remember very distinctly thinking this way as a freshman and sophomore at FUS--being taught to think this way. If the choice of a spouse was sound, the feelings would click in eventually.
Just last night, reading George Weigel's biography of John Paul II, I was struck by this line: "Love, for Karol Wojtyla, was the truth at the very core of the human condition..." (p.101) Similarly, he saw it as the core of authentic courtship. In the experience of falling in love, Wojtyla shows, the meaning of the universe is mysteriously revealed, and with it the lover's personal vocation: to give myself in love to this other, and to receive the gift of his love for me.(5)
This theme is also stressed repeatedly in the writings of the great Catholic philosopher, Dietrich von Hildebrand.(6) True love between a man and a woman, so far from being a matter of bodily urges or appetites, or of sub-rational, superficial "feelings" needing to be dominated by reason, is a profoundly, a pre-eminently spiritual reality--one that shakes us to the very depths of our being. It is, further, decisively an affective reality, centered in the heart, not the intellect or the will (though it is of course intimately related to both.) Jacob did not labor fourteen years for Rachel's hand because he had "discerned a compatibility" with her, but "because he loved her." (Gen. 29:19-20)
To insist on the centrality of love in courtship, however, is not at all to suggest that discernment has no place. It is vitally necessary; for instance, in helping us to distinguish between authentic love and counterfeits like infatuation or mere sexual attraction, or to decide whether or not this particular love ought to end in marriage, or whether it might be right to marry even in the absence of an intense "inloveness."(7) But, crucial at it is, rational discernment is not the essence of the matter, and if we talk as if it is, we will end by cheating young men and women out of the height of human happiness, and with it the moral power they will need to live out their married lives well.(8)
The objective and subjective dimensions
A second distortion in the above-described courtship method, related to the first, is in its too impersonal or lop-sidedly "objective" treatment of the vocation to marriage. This can be seen in the very idea of making lists of potential spouses, and in the notion of needing parental permission to begin courting.
In Catholic understanding, marriage is a vocation--not just to a general state, but to a particular person. And like a vocation to the religious life, it is based on an intimate, interior call of God. In other words, it is something profoundly subjective(9)--beyond the reach of purely objective judgements and categories.(10) Therefore, it is not fitting for a man who wants to marry to make lists of the qualities he's looking for in a wife, or lists of the various women who attract his interest. This exposes and reinforces an impersonal and de-personalizing view of marriage--as if it didn't really matter whom one marries, as long as she has the right qualities for the role she is to play. It encourages a man to be on the lookout for a "type" rather than for a person--an approach that has devastating consequences, particularly for women.(11)
Neither is it fitting for a couple to put the decision to court or to marry a particular person in the hands of their parents, or any other superior. No matter how much he may have the best interests of his daughter in mind, a parent cannot see into her heart, and is therefore simply unqualified to make that most intimate and ultimate of decisions for her. But, again, to say that the parents should not hold veto power over their adult child's choice to court or marry is not at all to suggest that they do not have an essential role to play in helping their off-spring to court and marry well. A parent's perspective is priceless and irreplaceable.
My own parents never did anything to try to "control" my dating in college. The unspoken understanding was that they had done for me what they could by raising me well, and now it was up to me to live as I thought right.
When I was a sophomore I had a boyfriend--someone I thought of as a great Christian leader and a potential spouse. I was not in love with him, but I expected that would come in due course. One day I asked my Dad, "Would you be happy if I married him?" He hesitated before answering, and in that single instant of fatherly hesitation (which surprised me) all the subtle doubts I had been harboring in my own heart crystallized into certainty: this relationship would never work; he was a great person, but he was all wrong for me. My father's knowledge of me and his broader experience of life allowed him to see it before I did. And my implicit trust in his judgement and his loving concern for my happiness made me see it much sooner than I would have on my own--which spared me (and the boyfriend) a lot of needless heartache.
My parents never had the least hesitation about Jules. But neither would they have picked him for me out of a crowd of potential husbands. Until they saw how we loved one another, they could not have imagined how right he is for me. It was a revelation for them too.
Parents wield an enormous influence over their children. They have a right and a duty to advise their grown sons and daughters, and to bless or withhold their blessing from their "courtship choices," as their loving parental wisdom dictates.(12) But they cannot make those choices for them, and they can do damage if they try.
A right understanding of human sexuality
The third serious defect of this method of courtship (also related to the first two) is in the way it treats human sexuality. It is not exactly a puritanical treatment, since it grants that sex is good and innocent in the right context, i.e., marriage. But still, it is reductive. When we compare a kiss to "putting a key in the ignition" and "challenge" young people to wait until they are married, we obscure the deepest meaning of human sexuality as the expression of our nature as persons created to give ourselves in love. We reinforce the disastrous misconception that sex is basically the satisfaction of an appetite (designed by God to induce us to marry and reproduce)--a pleasure process that begins with kissing, ends with intercourse and results in children. Since that appetite is so powerful--so the thinking goes--it needs to be strictly controlled until marriage, when according to God's law it may be satisfied without guilt. Therefore, the less we indulge ourselves before marriage, the safer we are. No mention is made of tenderness, romance, reverence, self-donation. Physical intimacy is reduced to sexual foreplay, and sexual morality is to its negative aspect of sin avoidance.
The truth is that a man may refrain from kissing his fiancee until their wedding day and still have an impure attitude toward her, because he views sex as a form of self-indulgence, rather than as a gift-of-self. And another man, who kisses his girlfriend with tenderness, may actually grow in purity as he does so, because he gives her that kiss as a sign and seal of his intention to love her and lay down his life for her. This is what a kiss between a man and a woman is meant to be.
In June of 1987, a year before Jules and I got engaged, Alice von Hildebrand asked me to drive her from New York to Virginia, where I was to take a summer course of hers. Knowing that my own courtship was about to begin, and wanting desperately to do it well, I asked her if she would share her thoughts with me. One of the many wonderful things she said to me that day was: "Reserve intimacy for only the most exceptional moments." It was only a few words, but they managed to encapsulate and communicate a profoundly true and beautiful image of human sexuality (one without any reductive tendencies) that served as a help and inspiration for Jules and me throughout our courtship. Her words were pervaded with profound reverence for the sexual sphere, as well as with a humble awareness of its depth, seriousness and power, and therefore its potential to do great harm if misused. It is the kind of teaching I wish every young couple could receive before they approach courtship. (How much less unhappiness there would be if they did!)
People will say that I am too romantic and idealistic; that the sex-saturated culture of today demands that we get practical with young people if we are going to protect them from sin and devastation. But, I think we give much more genuine help when we teach single men and women reverence, when we hold up for them images that reveal the heart-melting beauty of a pure human love (in place of the obscenity, violence and vulgarity pop-culture bombards them with.) Once they see it, they cannot help but long for it, and, under Grace, aspire to it. Their aching desire for authentic love gives them courage and insight; they begin to recognize intuitively and shrink from the impurity that threatens their chance of attaining it...
I know this was true in my own life, and I know I am not alone.
Feelings and femininity
If I had the space, I would like to develop here one final thought--a background problem attendant on the de-emphasis on feelings. I would like to show how this way of thinking tends in practice to devalue women, because they are generally speaking more "emotional" while men are more "rational." If we see feelings as needing to be dominated by reason, which is superior to them, we will be under psychological pressure to imagine that men are superior to women. We will blind ourselves to the many important ways that, spiritually speaking, the emotions (rightly understood) "lead" reason--because they are deeper and more sensitive. (Recall Pascal's words: "The heart has reasons that the reason does not know.") But that will have to wait for another place. I have already gone way beyond the normal length limits of a Concourse article.
To conclude my critique of this method of courtship, let me say two things. First, that for all its errors it embodies a moral and religious seriousness that are greatly to be admired and infinitely to be preferred over the thoughtless self-centeredness and promiscuity prevailing in the dating scene of the world today. Though it is not the fullness of truth, it can be for many young people what it was for me--namely, a giant step in the right direction. And second, if I fault FUS for sometimes promoting bad ideas about dating, it is also true that it was in philosophy classes there that I first encountered the writings of Von Hildebrand, Wojtyla and Kierkegaard, among others great thinkers about Love (for which I give special thanks to Dean Healy.) Even more, I met Jules at FUS, and FUS provided the backdrop of our courtship. So, when I criticize, I do so only with a very grateful sense of how much I owe my alma mater for what she gave me in the way of love--which is much more than I can ever repay.
Kathleen van Schaijik graduated in 1988. She now lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where her husband, Jules (class of '89) teaches philosophy at Ave Maria College. She is currently writing a book on Catholic courtship.
1 A recent article in the NY Times Magazine (2/27/00) about a fundamentalist Christian family (the father of which is studying to become a pastor) sums up this view succinctly: "It goes without saying that they do not approve of premarital sex, but what is a little more surprising is that they do not approve of premarital emotional intimacy either. If a couple are courting, they are supposed to be seriously considering each other as husband and wife, and they are supposed to do so with some overt participation by parents or other elders. Ideally, they should not be alone together, or if they are it ought to be in a public place--a Friendley's, say--where liquor is not served and where they are unlikely to give into temptation."
2 I have lost the reference here, though I saved the quotations. It was from a pamphlet advertising a series of tapes on this subject by a Protestant minister named Jonathon Livingston, I think.
3 Some of these principles can be found in Kimberly Hahn's tape series, "Dating and Courtship: A Catholic Perspective" (recorded in Steubenville in 1997, and available through St. Joseph Communications.) But it would be unjust to lump her views on this subject with thoroughly rationalistic approaches. Her tapes give a lot of good practical advice, and they reveal a genuine openness to the fullness of Catholic truth. There is much to be admired in them. For instance, she makes a very clear distinction between the basic self-centeredness of fornication and the self-donation of the marital act. Also she acknowledges the phenomenon of "falling in love," and agrees that marriage is a vocation to love a particular person. Still, I think some aspects of her teaching can be fairly criticized for betraying a rationalistic tendency not completely unsimilar to the method I'm here crititiquing.
4 I have heard of cases wherein the fact that the man felt no love for the woman he was thinking of marrying was conscientiously disregarded in his "discernment process." (My heart aches for those women.)
5 This insight, which is the basis of the Pope's profound "theology of the body," is elaborated in his ethical work Love and Responsibility, and very movingly illustrated in his play, The Jeweler's Shop.
6 See his The Heart, or Man and Woman, or Marriage: the Mystery of Faithful Love.
7 I am thinking for instance of the case of a widow with small children, who finds a good man who wants to marry her and provide for her and her children. She may sense that it is good and right to marry him, even if she is not madly in love.
8 Max Scheler has shown that happiness is a source of moral strength in human persons. This is something we experience all the time: when we are happy we are able to do good that is beyond us when we are depressed. The happiness that comes into a person through the experience of loving and being loved is a very vital help in meeting the challenges and demands of married life which might otherwise be crushing.
9 The term subjective is unfortunately ambiguous, and easily misunderstood. I am by no means advocating subjectivism, which is as different from subjective in my sense as feminism is from feminine. I mean, rather, to follow the Holy Father's use of the term to denote the unique and inscrutable interior plenitude of each individual human soul.
10 The mysterious subjectivity of this call is stirringly expressed in The Jeweler's Shop. When Andrew, who has just proposed to his future wife says about her: "There must have been something in Teresa that suited my personality. I thought much at the time about the "alter ego". Teresa was a whole world, just as distant as any other man, as any other woman--and yet there was something that allowed one to think of throwing a bridge."
11 This is material for a whole article in itself. It has many dimensions. One is in the psychological dynamics that come into play. A single woman who wants to be married will feel pressured to conform to an artificial ideal of wifeliness. She might be depressed at how little she measures up to it, at how many younger, prettier women there are who are better representatives of it than she. In a desperate effort to appear attractive as a potential wife, she will try hard to appear to be what she is not, even though it makes her feel phony and fills her with despair... A married woman, after the initial thrill of being a wife wears off and hardships begin to crop up, might experience a demoralizing doubt that her husband loves her. "Did he marry me for me, or did he marry me for my home-making skills?" She starts to feel "objectified," used. A pitiable longing to be loved as a person may drive her to do terrible things, such as unconsciously suppress her "positive attributes" in order to test her husband--to see whether his love for her really goes to the heart of who she is. (The worst thing a husband can do in this circumstance is rebuke his wife or "call her on" for not fulfilling her wifely duties.) But this is not the right place for developing this point.
12 That wisdom may in some circumstances suggest prudential action. For instance, if parents fear that their freshman daughter has gotten involved in a very destructive relationship, they may decide not to continue paying her tuition to the college her boyfriend attends. In a very serious case, such a measure might well be justified, even called for
IMO, the above offers a much better perspective on modern courtship, love and marriage.
Yes it's a better persepctive. Part of the problem with marriages today is that times have really changed, we live in an economy which makes it very hard for people to live those traditional roles. I knew a Korean man who was happily married to someone his parents chose for him when he was only 2 years old. He defended that way saying parents choose very carefully from families of the same background. He felt their way was more orderly than the American way where people date others from all different cultures and backgrounds and he pointed out they have a much lower divorce rate because compatibility is more ensured when the families are of the same social group.
With regard to --- One of the things the speaker said was "Feelings don't really matter. Feelings come and go. What matters is compatibility." I've heard the same idea expressed many other times this way: "Love is not a feeling; it's a decision." --It sounds easy to misconstrue and end up in a drab lifetime relationship. A feeling needs to be there. However, that feeling must be a mature adult feeling. I don't have time to go into it further.
I remember when I was about 10 or so, a man and his wife approached my mother. They knew me, and they volunteered to pay for my education in return for an understanding between me and their daughter. They said they knew me and wanted a good match for their daughter. My mother turned it down. I never did find out whose parents they were. I might have been interested, or not.
1. The rules are not adequately publicized. If a guy shows interest in a gal, but she does not return a show of interest (verboten in some courtship rule sets, regardless of her feelings), and he is unaware of these rules, he is likely to misinterpret her behavior and move on. I just participated in a denominational singles gathering, got frustrated by some of the odd behavior, and later discovered that the maidens were playing by a set of rules that the bachelors don't realize exist. If you don't publicize the rules, don't be surprised if would-be players leave the field.
2. Courtship presupposes a physically close community where individuals have easy exposure to each other in groups, and where elders are fully aware of those involved. In our spread-out culture where two interested parties can easily live hundreds of miles apart, the courtship process suffers as the "group date" requirement is very difficult to arrange. Finding enough about someone to decide to pursue formal courtship can be extremely difficult. Dating permits a discovery period which courtship presumes the community has already provided.
Reforming our thinking about courtship and sexualityby William Craig
Kathleen van Schaijik's insightful article on dating and courtship addressed a topic of tremendous practical importance. Having worked full-time in the Pro-Life movement for the past eight years,I am convinced that fostering an authentically Christian view of human sexuality is critical in our battle against the Culture of Death.
The prevalent view on sexuality in our culture is essentially pagan. One could argue that the day has arrived, as hoped for by Alex Comfort--a leader of the sexual revolution and author of The Joy of Sex --"when we regard chastity as no more a virtue than malnutrition." Christians have an obligation not only to instill in their children a proper vision of human sexuality, but to act as salt and light to a world that is sinking ever deeper into a cesspool of carnal license. While some progress is discernible, especially with the recent proliferation of abstinence programs, much work remains to be done. Even these abstinence programs generally focus on avoiding sexual activity, and not on developing a true Christian ethic of human sexuality.
It is tragic that the "biblical approach" to courtship, which Mrs. Van Schaijik criticized, has emerged as the predominant Christian alternative to our culture's hedonistic dating and courtship rituals. While laudable in its intent, this approach does a disservice to its adherents by depriving them of the experience of discerning romantic feelings, developing self-control, and learning to interact emotionally in ways that will make them better spouses when the "Right One" comes along.
The Catholic Church's teaching on human sexuality and love is incomprehensibly beautiful. If that beauty is conveyed, dating and courtship rituals can be revolutionized to reflect the Gospel. Such a revolution would require several interrelated steps:
We must preach in the area of human sexuality faithfully and with passion. If we do not proclaim the Gospel as it relates to human sexuality, pop culture will fill the void. We have an obligation to preach the Truth, especially as it relates to these critical issues. God's message has a power that does not come from us, and He has placed these Truths deep within every human heart. Young people will respond to the truth and the beauty of our message if shared clearly and with passion. The Gospel is just as fresh and vibrant as ever.
We must preach and teach specifically on these topics. Unfortunately, our message on human sexuality is astonishingly counter-cultural. Even within the Catholic Church, we have experienced more than thirty years of a widespread belief that one can ignore Church teaching on sexual matters and still remain a "good Catholic." It is unlikely that a young Catholic has ever heard a single homily or discussion of the Church's teaching on any of these topics. It is incredibly important not only to expressly state the Church's teaching, but also to provide compelling arguments that further reflect "ever more clearly the biblical foundations, the ethical grounds and the personalistic reasons" behind these commandments of God given for our benefit. A brilliant example of this approach is Pope John Paul II's teaching on the Theology of the Body. We must address these subjects, especially in Catholic schools, Religious Education Programs, and in marriage preparation classes.
We must demonstrate a profound trust and respect for those facing these issues. Allowing young people to face these critical issues prior to marriage, as these situations naturally arise, can be a great opportunity for growth for them, despite the risks involved. Young people do not need to be told to avoid all intimacy, but rather, that with God's grace, they are capable of self-control, and that we feel that they can be trusted to develop emotionally in this area. Permitting "full" courtship and dating requires a great deal of parental interaction, supervision and communication.
We must develop a proper religious foundation in our children so as to prepare them for the challenges they will face in the future, including issues involving human sexuality. Parents must provide their children "an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgement, and self-mastery--the preconditions of all true freedom," in addition to educating them in the Faith. Children trained in these critical skills are well positioned to not only survive adolescence and the dating process unscathed, but to continue to grow in sanctity.
I pray that God raises up many from FUS who will accept the challenge to be leaders in bringing about this Catholic revolution in dating and courtship.
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